


"Of Course I Know Who You Are; You're Sanji."

by Tiny_Tyrant



Category: One Piece
Genre: Gen, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, Nakamaship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-25
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-05-23 02:20:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6101572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiny_Tyrant/pseuds/Tiny_Tyrant
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A short story about the aftermath of a fight where Zoro woke up with no memory of Sanji. Canon universe and dialogue heavy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	"Of Course I Know Who You Are; You're Sanji."

“Get lost, moss-for-brains. There's no reason for you to come seek me out.”

That was a bit harsh. He'd expected the blond to be a little rough around the edges from his behaviour when he woke up in the infirmary but this rudeness was completely uncalled for.

“Who pissed in your coffee?” Zoro grumbled back, eyeing Sanji suspiciously.

“Just fuck off shitty swordsman, I don't want to talk.”

“You lie just as well as Usopp.”

There was no audible response but Zoro suspected he'd cursed several times under his breath and the pace of his smoking increased.

“I'm not going anywhere,” Zoro informed him.

“Then I'm going.”

Sanji pushed away from the railing, only to be caught in Zoro's grip. It took Zoro a moment to realise he had hold of Sanji's arm. In that moment, Sanji struck out, aiming a kick at his head. The blow hit Zoro's arms. Zoro had been able to quickly form a block instinctively to prevent being brained by the soles of Sanji's shoes.

“What the hell is your problem with me?” Zoro raised his voice. “I only came up here to check on how you were.”

“If you knew who I am then you wouldn't even have to check. I can handle myself.”

“Of course I know who you are; you're Sanji.”

“It's not the same damn thing you moron!” With that, Sanji kicked Zoro in the chest, knocking him onto the lawn of the main deck.

Zoro looked very lost as he looked up at Sanji and the rest of the crew had their eyes on them. Luffy sprung up onto the upper level.

“I know I know, don't fight.” Sanji anticipated what Luffy may say.

“Actually, I think you should,” Luffy shrugged. “Clear the main deck.”

“Luffy, are you sure?” Zoro looked at him questioningly.

“Yeah, don't go easy on him.” Luffy’s grinning face didn’t give much for Zoro to read what his intentions were.

Sanji hopped down onto the main deck with practiced ease and Zoro got to his feet and took out Wado.

“Don't get cocky, you will need all three against me.” Sanji grumbled, tucking his hands into his pockets. Zoro decided to act on Sanji's warning and they launch into a fight. At first Zoro was taken aback by Sanji's speed but soon realised his body knows how to react to Sanji's almost unpredictable fighting style. He tried to pressure Sanji but Sanji was nimble enough to dodge out of the way. Any hits they got in on each other were minimal and equal for both sides. Zoro leapt back and called it off. They're both out of breath and watching each other closely.

With a single jerk of his head toward the door Sanji suggested they head into the galley before heading that way and Zoro followed. Sanji closed the door behind them. He poured a couple of drinks for them both and set them on the table.

“You're upset because I forgot everything about you.” Zoro broke the silent tension between them. Glancing at Zoro with a strange look, Sanji pushed Zoro’s cup closer to him.

“There's nothing to be upset about. I would have thought the taste of my food might have triggered your memory. It pissed me off that it didn't.” The cook’s words were calm.

“Is that why you made rice dishes?”

“It would be more palatable after being on an IV for a few days than other dishes.”

“You've always got some smart ass answer for everything, don't you?”

“When it's you I'm up against, I don't really have to try hard, idiot swordsman.”

“Shut your face, Sanji.”

Sanji scowled again and sipped at his drink.

“You did it again! You get pissed off when I say your name. How much do you hate me?”

“I don't hate you. You piss me off most of the time though.”

“And how is that not hating me?”

Sanji shrugged. “It is what it is. We're nakama, even if we don't get along all of the time. I've got your back and you've got mine.”

“And that's it? That's what's pissing you off.”

“What's pissing me off is that I'm the only person you've forgotten! It's shitty of me to think like this but it wouldn't feel as awful if I wasn't the only one forgotten about.”

Zoro observed Sanji for a long moment. “I can't shake the feeling that I know you're important to me but I just don't know the whys and hows.”

“Well I can't answer that for you. It's not like we talked much about how we felt. This right now is new territory for me.”

Sanji leaned back on his chair, stretching his arms out in front of him and Zoro watched Sanji's hands curiously. Picking up on this, Sanji looked at him questioningly but it was ignored. Zoro reached out and turned over one of Sanji's hands, tracing a finger over his palm.

“These are important to you.”

Sanji seemed a little surprised at the gentleness in Zoro's voice when he asked: “Can I…?”

Not knowing what Zoro was asking permission for, Sanji merely shrugged. Zoro took the hand in both of his, gently feeling the tendons and ligaments and bones. A smile graced Zoro's face as he looked at Sanji.

“Idiot cook, I'll remember you properly soon. Don't worry about it. Chopper says it's very unlikely I'll forget you forever.”

Sanji scowled a little and snatched his hand back, blushing heavily. “I'm not worried about that, moron. Who would want to be remembered by a shitty swordsman like you? Maybe if you beat Mihawk, you'll be worthy.”

Zoro laughed and doesn't say anything, only grinning widely.

“Stop grinning like that, it makes you look even more stupid.”

“Says the one with the tomato face.”

Sanji kicked him under the table making Zoro hiss with pain. They glared at each other but soon Zoro smirks and leans back in his chair.

“You're surprisingly easy to rile up, Sanji,” Zoro commented, lacing his fingers behind his head.

“Yeah well you've had a couple of years to practice that. The same goes for me if I want to piss you off.”

“So we're close, then?”

Taken aback, Sanji looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. “What makes you think that?”

“If I didn't want to be pissed off by you I'd just ignore you. You say you know me well enough to annoy me.”

Zoro's reasoning was sound but this was the first time Sanji had heard anything like it. He was still in quiet shock and thinking what this could mean. He'd always thought that he and Zoro were like chalk and cheese, never going to see eye to eye. But Zoro was looking at him fondly enough just now.

“I honestly don't know what kind of relationship we share. We argue five times more often than we laugh together at least. I would never worry about you not making it through a fight unless we're both on death's door though…”

“Sounds pretty close to me.” Zoro shrugged and sipped his drink. “Though once I remember you properly, it'd be better if we knew where we stand with each other though.”

“…Shitty swordsman…” Sanji muttered, pink-faced and looking toward the window.

“Idiot cook.”

Sanji turned his head towards Zoro before he even realised it and Zoro's eyebrows raised.

“You don't answer to your name when I say it.” Zoro observed.

Sanji waves a hand nonchalantly and looks back toward the window. “I probably would if you said it more but you never do.”

“The guy that remembers you seems like he's a jerk towards you,” Zoro chuckled.

“Yeah well it's nothing that I can't handle and throw back, Marimo,” Sanji laughed but his face remained turned toward the window, “honestly, I don't feel badly treated by you so don't start feeling guilty or anything.”

Zoro grinned and lowered his drink to the table. “Alright, I'll trust your word on that.”

Standing up, he dragged his chair around the corner of the table to be closer to Sanji. The noise caught Sanji's attention and he eyed Zoro curiously.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing much, just checking your leg for injuries.”

“Why? I'm completely fine.”

“Will you let me?”

“Sure but you're not going to find anything, idiot.”

Zoro reached to Sanji's leg and lifted it until Sanji's foot rested on the edge of the chair between Zoro's knees. Lifting the hem of the trousers, Zoro inspected the revealed shin. He runs fingers up the back of the calf muscle, feeling the wiry dark blond hairs that stood out strongly against the pale skin. He couldn't find any signs of tenderness or bruising. Instead, Zoro was surprised at how dense the muscles were.

Sanji reached into his jacket and pulled out his cigarette packet then pulled an ashtray closer. He lit the cigarette, glancing over at Zoro as he does so, noting that the man was still studying his calf. He looked a moment longer and saw how Zoro's brows were furrowed and so corrected himself. It seemed Zoro was lost in thought, not really focusing on Sanji's leg but still moving his hands to feel the muscle anyway. He got comfortable in his chair in the new position and the motion of his leg snapped Zoro's attention to his face.

“Something on your mind?” Sanji asked casually, tapping ash into the ashtray.

“You… but I'm only getting vague feelings,” Zoro huffed, clearly frustrated if the slight scowl is anything to go by as evidence. He pulled the trouser leg back down in place and switched Sanji's legs and inspected the other in the same manner he had been. His fingers lingered over a faint bruise on the front of the shin and gently pressed it. Sanji's leg tensed fractionally but Sanji only shot Zoro a questioning look. The raised eyebrows told Sanji that Zoro was satisfied it wasn't badly hurt, as if he would ever be that fragile.

“…I'd be surprised if this brings back any memories at all, this is completely new territory too.” Sanji slumped into his chair a bit further, leaning over the back with the cigarette in his lips. “Is there anything you think might help you remember?”

“Hmm… Not really sure but those cigarettes of yours have given me an idea.”

“Hmm, like what?”

With incredible gentleness, Zoro set Sanji's foot on the floor before leaving his seat and moved to stand over Sanji. Sanji looked up at him straightening up in his chair.

“What are you planning, moss-head?” Sanji narrowed his eye.

“Don't look so suspicious, Sanji,” Zoro sighed, “will you let me… smell you?”

“Oh right, scent is linked to memory… But when did you ever get chance to smell me without the cigarettes?”

“How would I know? I can't remember,” Zoro snapped. “Will you let me or not?”

Sanji recognised the pissed off tone but the embarrassed glare was a rarity. Smirking, Sanji nodded the once, not trusting himself to not make a comment to piss Zoro off further.

Zoro leaned down and brought his nose to the shoulder of Sanji's jacket. Sanji almost laughed as he heard Zoro's sniffing but he brought a finger to his lips and lightly bit it to try to distract himself. He jumped at the feel of fingers in his hair and the touch of a nose to his neck.

“Oi, what are you doing?”

“Your jacket smells like cigarettes,” muttered Zoro, sniffing near Sanji's ear.

Sanji tried to squirm away from the noise but was held firmly in place as Zoro moved to Sanji's hairline.

“That won't be any better, idiot!” Sanji growled, “my cigarettes go closer to there than to my jacket.”

Zoro's sniffs became slower and deeper. His fingers tighten in Sanji's hair just slightly and he slowly moves away, freeing Sanji from his grip. He sat back in his chair and looked away from Sanji. His hands twitched and fidgeted in his lap as he thought.

“What the hell was that about?” Sanji demanded, glaring at Zoro and covering the side of his neck with his hand and puffing on his cigarette agitatedly.

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Zoro denied, glancing at Sanji but returning his gaze to a spot on the floor.

“Did it work?”

“Yeah… I need some time to think. Feels like I'm looking at myself from the outside… sort of…” He rubbed his hands over his eyes.

Sanji watched him curiously. “So you remember everything about me now?”

“Yeah just… give me a moment.” Zoro waved his hand at Sanji dismissively, wanting some space.

Sanji waited obediently, finishing off his cigarette and extinguishing it in the ashtray. Zoro took another moment to come out of his thoughts while he looked at Sanji with an assessing gaze.

“Yeah I remember you now, mostly, and I was annoyingly honest in front of you love-cook,” he groused as if it were Sanji's fault.

“Oh, so are we going to have a heart-to-heart~?” Sanji grinned, standing and turning his chair about to rest his elbows on the back of it.

“Well I said so…”

“I won't hold you to it, you know. It'll be just as awkward for me as it is for you.”

“That's precisely why we need to talk though.”

“You're not wrong, I guess.” He shrugged lightly, resting his chin on his folded arms. “What's on your mind then Marimo?”

“I remember what happened before I forgot about you,” Zoro murmured, rubbing at his forehead. “Chopper said I was unlikely to remember what caused the memory loss but… I remember.”

Sanji blinked. Well this was interesting but Sanji couldn't quite tell what this had to do with their relationship.

“That's unusual,” he edged, not wanting to pressure Zoro into talking in case it had the opposite effect.

“In that fight there was a devil fruit user… he claimed he could make me forget anything. He tried to make me forget where I was.”

Sanji snorted earning a glare from Zoro. “Sorry, sorry,” he giggled, “but I can see why you were a good match up against him.”

“…In the end I knocked him down and he did something to me and he said something… uh…” Zoro made a pained noise as he tried to remember and Sanji reached forward putting his hand on Zoro's arm.

“Oi, take it easy, just because it's your head, it doesn't mean you should push it,” Sanji warned.

“Shut up, I'm fine,” Zoro growled. “This is important.”

Sanji lifts his hand away, showing his palm in a placating gesture.

“He said that he'd make me forget… the nakama I have the strongest bond with. Whether it's true or not I don't really know for sure but I knew something felt weird when I woke up.”

“So he thought your strongest bond was with me?” Sanji sounded skeptical.

“Or I did,” Zoro corrected him, “he could have just made me forget Luffy.”

He had a point, Sanji frowned as he thought about it. “If it was his judgement, not yours then he probably would have chosen to make you forget Luffy. You have a lot of respect for him and that is pretty obvious to anyone you fight against. The main question is: 'Why me?'”

“That's pretty obvious.”

Zoro turned his attention to his cup of booze giving no hints to Sanji about his inner thoughts.

“Fuck you Marimo, how the hell am I supposed to know if you won't say it? That's why I asked you,” Sanji snapped, irritated by the lack of real response.

Zoro brought his gaze back onto Sanji and let out an agitated sigh. “I already said it and I'm not saying it again.” He ran a hand through his hair and shifted his weight where he sat.

Sanji glowered at him. He didn't miss how restless Zoro seemed. It was unusual for Zoro to be so fidgety since Zoro preferred to keep his movements completely under control. Sanji's glare softened as he ran over what they'd said to each other in his head.

“You're the one that thinks your strongest bond is with me,” Sanji concluded, “am I right?”

Zoro nodded just the once.

“Wow… This is quite the… uh…” Sanji gestured with a hand as he tried to find the word.

“Surprise?” Zoro supplied.

“Hmm… not quite what I was thinking. It is a surprise though. You spend a lot of time saying that I'm not important to you so of course I'm… fuck this,” he groused the last part, slumping further over onto the back of the chair before him, “it's hard to be honest when you're right there.”

Raising an eyebrow, Zoro watched as Sanji get more and more worked up. “Does it piss you off that I'm telling you this now?” he guessed.

“A bit, not as much as it should do now I think about it.”

“So what about you?”

“What about me?”

Zoro huffed, “What about what you think of me?”

The question froze Sanji for a moment. If it had been anyone else asking he'd have many responses and derogatory comments about Zoro ready to go but whilst they were on the tip of his tongue, he knew they wouldn't hold any weight.

“…Probably the same… You piss me off but I guess there's more to us than what we say,” he decided eventually.

Nothing was said between them for a short moment but soon Zoro started laughing, starting from a slight chuckle to a full-blown belly laugh. Sanji is mystified but for a moment but his lips curled up and he soon joined in.

“Why the hell are you laughing?” Sanji chortled.

“Why are you?” Zoro returned, barely able to hold himself together long enough for the reply.

“I don't fucking know!”

“I don't either!”

The look of decided triumph on Zoro's face broke Sanji and he was in hysterics, a bob of the ship sent Sanji backwards off his chair and Zoro only laughed harder. Sanji remembered his cigarette.

“Moss-head… the ashtray!”

“Get off your ass!”

“I can't.”

Clutching his side, Zoro snatched up the ashtray and put it down next to Sanji, sitting heavily on the floor near him. Sanji reached over and stubbed out his cigarette in the tray.

“Shit, my stomach hurts,” Sanji complained through the fits of laughter and Zoro nodded, only laughing harder and needing to lay down too.

It takes some time for them to calm down but once they are calm, Zoro stood up and helped Sanji to his feet.

“I think that devil fruit guy made you crazy too,” Sanji commented, having to stifle a giggle.

“Says the idiot that fell off his chair from laughing,” Zoro fired back, grinning widely. “Are we good?” He gestured between the two of them.

Grinning, Sanji nodded, “Yeah we're good. The next time you forget me though I'll kick your ass around the Grand-line and back.”

Zoro slapped his hand to Sanji's back making the other man hiss. “Yeah we're good.”

Sucking back his irritation, Sanji stood and unlatched the galley door and stepped through, glancing back at Zoro. Zoro sauntered by and Sanji aimed a kick at Zoro's shin as he passed. Zoro swore and Sanji slipped out of reach with a mischievous grin on his face.

From their seats on the upper deck, Robin noticed the pair of them and chuckled catching Nami's attention.

“What's funny?”

Robin gestured to the now arguing pair. “I would say that peace has been restored but they certainly don't view it that way.”

Nami looked over at them and laughed. “Good, it's weird seeing Zoro being gentle towards Sanji.”

“It's nice when they laugh together though.”

Flashing a smile at Robin, she agrees.

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully you've enjoyed my version of this over-done theme. It would be nice if you would let me know what you think.


End file.
